"They will not say Rafael Nadal is playing like disaster" - Spaniard discounts reports from colleagues that he is playing at high level on comeback

Rafael Nadal's colleagues on the ATP Tour have given the verdict that he has returned to action at a high level once again, but the Spaniard himself has decided not to take much stock of their words.

All set to make his comeback after nearly 12 months at the 2024 Brisbane International this week, Nadal has had a series of high-profile practice sessions Down Under. He has practiced with the likes of Holger Rune, Dominic Thiem, and Andy Murray, all of whom expressed later that the sessions were highly intense.

Rune, for instance, proclaimed that it was the hardest training session he had had in the last six months.

"After the practice I talked to my team, and I thought he played unbelievable. We were hitting. He was hitting strong. He always used to hit strong. Then we started points and I thought he was moving very well, moving side to side extremely fast," Holger Rune said.

"I think the intensity he brings is incredible. Like, I've been playing I think a very intense pre-season and a very intense end of the season last year, and that was probably the hardest practice I've had the last half year, I would say," he added at his pre-tournament press conference in Brisbane.

Murray echoed a similar sentiment as well, stating that the 22-time Grand Slam champion looked physically good and played without any signs of rust.

"It's great to have him back playing. I mean, he's obviously working extremely hard, like always. Always very, very intense practices with him. Yeah, he looked physically good, was playing well," Andy Murray said in his press conference.

Speaking at his press conference Rafael Nadal pointed out that these words did not have much value, seeing as his colleagues were not going to go out there and say that his game was a disaster anyway.

The 37-year-old explained where his game was at the moment, remarking that he was happy with the way things were going, even if it was hard to predict exactly what lay in store for him.

Thankfully, Nadal is beginning the season with no expectations whatsoever as he understands the difficulty of getting back into rhythm after such a long time on the sidelines.

"I mean, if you ask my colleagues how I feel, they will not come here and say, Rafa is playing like disaster. It's obvious, no? I feel what they said have not much value because, of course, you ask me how they're playing, I will say they're playing great, too. You will not talk negative things about colleagues," Nadal said.

"But no, in a realistic world, I'm happy the way that I am practicing. Of course, I don't have the expectations that I used to have in the past, especially for the beginning. It's obvious, no? It's one year. It's surgery. It's not a long period of time practicing in a decent level. For me is a little bit unpredictable how the things going to be, no?" he added.

"Competing is different than practicing" - Rafael Nadal

Australia Brisbane Tennis

Rafael Nadal further explained that competing was very different from practicing and that it was hard to predict how the former was going to go based on the latter. The Spaniard revealed that even a month ago, he was not sure whether he would be able to show up in Brisbane and practice at a high level.

At the last minute, fortunately, he realized he was ready to compete, while also making a note to himself that he was not going to worry about how he was going to fare in the competition

"In terms of how the things going to go in competition, it's completely very difficult to say, no? Competing is different than practicing. But in terms of practicing with the guys here, I am quite happy because I am able to feel myself competitive against the players that I played on the practice basis," Nadal said.

"That's a lot for me because I don't know one month ago if I will have the chance to come here or feel myself enjoying on the practices with the guys because have been a possibility I come here practicing with the guys and I feel, Okay, I am not ready to compete. Before the tournament start, I feel ready to compete. Then what can happen in the competition, I can't know. I don't know," he added.